No Love for Philly; Here Comes the Rain

There appears to be no brotherly love for the defending MLB champs, the Philadelphia Phillies. Everyone from Mike Francesca on New York's 660 AM sports talk radio to ESPN Senior Writer Pat Forde on "First & Ten" truly believe that the Phillies can't (and won't) win with a bullpen in disaray. This simply isn't true. What's true is that while pitching does indeed win championships, let's not forget that the Phillies have Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, both good pitchers with very good postseason results (Hamels in '08, Lee in '09). Its important to have a 'pen you can rely on, and despite having to peacemeal the last few innings of every game, the Phillies have advanced to the NLCS and won 8-6 in Game 1 against the Dodgers.

In New York, the Yankees and Angels will begin Game 1 in the ALCS in less than desirable conditions. It's going to be cold, wet, and miserable, but enjoyable nonetheless, unless Selig decides to stop the game and continue it tomorrow-- just kidding. The whole circus surrounding whether the rain will impact the Yankees' ability to pitch Sabathia on short rest for Game 4 after pitching in Game 1, might all be for naught. If the Yankees have a 2-1 series lead, there shouldn't be any reason for CC to be pitching, especially with this Yankee lineup being able to make up for a difference in Yankee starting pitchers.